Twig II
by QuestionLair
Summary: Sequel Fanfic to the web serial Twig.


The column of black smoke stood in stark contrast to the blue sky and soft white clouds that stretched to the ends of the horizon. I watched with intense fixation. It was a startling sight to see on this little corner of the world.

The ship, an older wooden military vessel, burned fiercely. And now I saw, a tentacle reached up again, twice as tall as the ship's mast. It massive weight came down, dead center on the ship.

The "crack" was perhaps the most powerful sound I had ever heard. And with it, my entire soundscape shifted. The waves washing up on the white shore sounded very distant, and my heartbeat was noticeably audible. It was fear and excitement both.

I remained, watching as the ship was brought to its absolute conclusion by the war beast. It had fully split in two now, and tentacles wrapped around each half, dragging them down. The creature displayed no signs it was bothered by the flames, but it was hard to tell with the majority of it still underwater.

I sat, adjusting my dress beneath me. It was a simple white smock that I had worn while I was out picking fruit, not something I minded getting dirty. Mother would though. But I wasn't too concerned about her right now. The sight that lay before me was horrible, tragic. I knew I should feel more remorse for the men who were now doubt dying about the remains of the ship. Still, I couldn't see them, couldn't hear their cries from this distance. I was a voyeur, isolated from the situation.

It was the most interesting thing I'd ever seen in my entire life. This island was so slow, so dull. And yet, I was the only one who seemed bothered by it. Even now, I was the only one who sat on this beach, watching the ship sink. Most of the others were on the bay side of the island, the men out fishing as usual and the women gathering fruit and tending to homes like they had done for untold centuries. I'm sure they could see the smoke, and had probably sent someone to find out what was going on. And that's why they weren't here. The could see that this was a Crown affair, and they wanted no part of it.

I thought back now to words I had heard hundreds of times surely, "be grateful." This was a peaceful, bountiful island. The people could live simply, easily. Even people like us, father had said. The outside world was not kind to people with brown skin, the Crown especially. They left us alone, and we made no effort to draw their attention.

They weren't wrong, I knew. My body was well nourished by this island, but my mind, my heart, they needed more. It sounded so cliche, even as I thought it. How many of those cheap romance novels had I read, where the maiden takes a plunge into adventure only to find it wasn't what she expected. To grow and change and somehow end up back in the same comfortable peaceful living arrangement she had started in, usually with someone daring and handsome by side now though.

It was cliche, but cliche in part because it was true. Maybe I would find that I wanted the peaceful ordinary life after a whirlwind romance adventure with a handsome stranger, but I still needed to have that adventure in the first place to know for sure.

I stayed, sitting on the beach, playing through the same scenarios that had run through my mind countless times. I tried to ignore the sweat and humidity that clung to me as the sun beat down on me. The insects, at least, weren't so bad this close to the water.

In the midst of my musings, the ship dipped below the water, never to resurface I was sure. I had only ever heard that the Crown and Academy alike were quite thorough in what ever they did.

But perhaps even they had limitations. After a couple hours, debris started to make its way to shore. Mostly mangled planks, some with burnt edges. I spotted what looked like a piece of the ships railing further out in the water.

I was beginning to realize the excitement was over. The sky was beginning to look a tinge purple, with sunset about to begin. I knew Mother and Father would be expecting me soon, and as I came out my reverie and looked at the state of my dress my previous lack of concern began to ebb away. Mother would not be happy.

I stood and brushed off as much sand as I could, but it was a very incomplete measure I knew. I'm sure I would spend a decent chunk of my evening cleaning myself and my clothes at Mother's insistence.

As I turned to go, a flash of color, that I thought perhaps I imagined, caught my eye. Still, I turned back to see if it was just a trick of the eyes.

It turned out to be real, just a hint of red among some debris. I looked closely trying to figure out was it was, and to my shock I realized it was a person.

I swallowed, and inhaled and exhaled sharply. It seems my handsome stranger has come to me at last I joked with myself. But there wasn't as much humor as I would have liked.

He was still a ways off, at least I thought it was a he. It looked like his red hair was fairly long, so perhaps it was actually a woman, but he clothes were a mans. Black trousers and a dark grey, military style vest over a white shirt. He had one arm and leg draped over a larger piece of timber, his other half mostly in the water.

As he drifted closer, I gathered my courage and began to wade out into the water, my concern for my clothes gone once again . The water was just below my bust by the time I reached him. I decided it would be better to try to pull the wooden beam he clung to towards the shore instead of helping him directly. I was tall and fairly strong for a woman, but I was hesitant to try to carry a full grown man through the water.

Once the water was back around my mid calf, I moved over to grab the man. He was facing the beam, so I couldn't tell if he was conscious or even half conscious. I extricated his arm and leg from around the beam, and he made no move to stop me.

It was hard to pull him up onto the beach, even this close. His clothes were water logged, but he still seemed heavier than I would have expected. I grabbed his arm and strained, pulling him up several feet on to the shore. Hopefully I wasn't exacerbating any of his injuries.

Looking down, I saw the source of the extra weight he had on him. His other arm that had been submerged in water was now fully visible. The first word that came to mind was monstrous.

"Oh, a handsome stranger indeed," I said aloud.


End file.
